Cat Food Versus Dog Food

[SteveW]

Since food is art, this is the forum closest to my following observation.

I have recently acquired a cat. Although I have had a dog for many years (an aging pug), I never noticed the difference between the way cat food is labeled versus dog food.

Dog food is "manly" - Snausages, Chuck Wagon, etc. I never gave it much thought until I was shopping for the cat. Now I get Hunters Stew with Venison, Seafood and Tomato Bisque, Chicken Cacciatore, etc. Dog food comes with "gravy" while cat food always comes with "sauce." Now, I am a foodie and like buying the cat food much more than I ever did with dog food. I realize that the food is unidentifiable meat by products, but are cat people more cultured that dog people or at least perceived to be by marketing?

 

[TruthSeeker]

did you know you can get human grade cat food with no byproducts at all? I feed it to my cat with IBS. It helps him a great deal.

As for the marketing, I think one issue to consider is the gender of the owner. I bet (but don't have data) there are more women shopping for cat food and more men shopping for dog food.

 

[elle_inquisitor]

Commercials for dog food often show man and his best friend involved in some type of sports or athletics (purina comes to mind). Cat food commercials depict cats in sumptious surroundings eating food out of crystal dishes (Fancy Feast). Dogs are generally rough and tumble and attention seeking while cats tend to be more subtly inquisitive and aloof.

This marketing perpetuates the myth that dogs have common meaty appetites while cats have a more refined discerning palette.

The cats I had both drank out of the toilet. Nothing too classy or refined about that.

 

[Flo]

Commercials for dog food often show man and his best friend involved in some type of sports or athletics (purina comes to mind). Cat food commercials depict cats in sumptious surroundings eating food out of crystal dishes (Fancy Feast). Dogs are generally rough and tumble and attention seeking while cats tend to be more subtly inquisitive and aloof.

This marketing perpetuates the myth that dogs have common meaty appetites while cats have a more refined discerning palette.

A myth, indeed:

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/catsaredif.html

..... a good way to think of it is that cats are carnivores, dogs are omnivores, but they both have evolved as hunters of other animals in keeping with their nature as meat-eaters.

The cats I had both drank out of the toilet. Nothing too classy or refined about that.

Mine drink out of the toilet, roll over in cow dung (and then attempt to slip under my bed covers on chilly nights), and disembowel the birds they catch on the kitchen table ...

 

[TragicMonkey]

My brother-in-law has a cat that eats guacamole-flavored tortilla chips. This perplexes my sister's cat, which doesn't identify what his friend is eating as food at all.

The cat I had in childhood attempted to consume a stick of butter. But then, she'd eat paper napkins if I pretended to be eating them myself.

Mysterious, yes. Elegant? No.

 

[davefoc]

Just out of curiosity, what was the logic behind selecting the History, Literature, and the Arts Forum for this topic?

 

[bigred]

I think that was answered w/his very first words. A silly rationale, but at least he offered one.

And that brings up a good point: WHERE is the Food Forum?? This is far too worthy a topic to be ignored.

 

[Kopji]

My dog's favorite food is cat crap so maybe there is something to this.

Edited to add a link to the JREF Food Forum

Food